The open political discussion thread. Read the first post!

[coheed]

I think why the rest of the world doesnt particularly like the US is that we're the only country in the world that goes around saying how great we are and how important we are.


Resigning from thread. Thats all I have to say.

[GeneW]

Originally Posted by coheed

I think why the rest of the world doesnt particularly like the US is that we're the only country in the world that goes around saying how great we are and how important we are.


Resigning from thread. Thats all I have to say.

I think there is some truth to that idea. I run into people, visitors, who tend to be defensive when I discuss the US system. Of course I also understand that the US doesn't know everything, isn't omnipotent, and that we're tired of being an empire. At least I'm tired of it.

The flip side, of course, is the arrogant attitude that the US does not have its own culture and that by implication we're rubes and clods.

The US borrows from anyone who comes here. While we're mostly Anglo Saxon we tend to borrow a lot from other places too.

Gene

[jambo101]

New piece of the sky falling, Obama is a Satanist,heres the proof
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-TMK...layer_embedded

Some people are really going to extremes to discredit Obama,wonder how many hours the guy spent to come up with this stretch of the imagination just to drive the republicans into more of a stupor i hope in 4yrs Obama gets re elected

[NJBob]

Originally Posted by coheed

I think why the rest of the world doesn't particularly like the US is that we're the only country in the world that goes around saying how great we are and how important we are.

I saw a piece on Iran (as a good example) a few weeks ago by "Rick Steves" a video travel agent if you will. As he ventured thru the country he revealed with conversations with the locals that they like us. They are objective enough to to say that it's the governments that are in conflict. The people care about other people. It's my opinion that most countries are like this. The media (what a surprise) tends to exagerate or overstate what the U.S. is all about. I have a nephew in Iraq who states that despite any misunderstanding or lack of info from the media, the real people appreciate what we did and the help we are giving them rebuilding. You don't hear this on the news but one of the biggest most dangerous cities has been opening up there shops and streets and life is getting back to normal. It's a shame that the extremists are getting so much attention and the good stuff is not getting reported at all.

[MadMax]

Originally Posted by coheed

I think why the rest of the world doesnt particularly like the US is that we're the only country in the world that goes around saying how great we are and how important we are.

Resigning from thread. Thats all I have to say.

Well, since you are resigning from this thread, I wasn't going to reply; but it still warrants one.

For one, how much international travel have you done? Because if you have, you'd realize that most of the anti-US sentiment is directed towards our government, not the people or culture of the US.

And being the last true world power, some of that criticism is to be expected. I don't agree with everything our government does, but I also realize that the US is one of the greatest countries on the planet and a lot of that hatred stems from jealousy. Take Iran for example, they like to bitch and moan about the US, but given the opportunity they would very much want to control how the world is. Same goes with the Chinese, Russians, and basically every other major country in the world. The biggest difference is the US has the power to do so, whereas they do not, so they try other avenues of influence (terrorism, economics, etc) to try and get leverage for their desires...

Cheers! M2